A BILLIONAIRE Premier League owner has been accused of running a secret £600million gambling syndicate to bet on football matches.
And he allegedly used Nigel Farage’s former chief of staff to place the bets, a high court heard.
Tony Bloom is the majority shareholder and chairman of Brighton – plus he owns racehorses and a significant stake in Scottish league leaders Hearts.
He made his money as a professional gambler, nicknamed ‘The Lizard’.
In 2014, Bloom was given special dispensation from the FA to operate his betting consultancy, Starlizard, and bet on football through his syndicate.
Brentford chief Matthew Benham has the same policy due to his pre-existing business interests in the gambling industry.
They are not allowed to bet on their own teams or on matches in competitions their team are in, including the Premier League.
Bloom’s bets are audited by an accountancy firm and the FA annually and he has never been in breach of the special agreement.
But as reported by The Times, Bloom, 55, and his Tony Bloom Betting Syndicate are being sued by Ryan Dudfield, a former Starlizard employee.
Dudfield claims he is owed £17.5m from the £189m profits made by the syndicate via George Cottrell’s accounts after he set Cottrell up with Bloom’s syndicate.
Dudfield says he agreed a deal to “to place bets on sporting fixtures, predominantly football matches” using “secret exotic” offshore accounts belonging to Cottrell.
Dudfield’s evidence reportedly includes bets on Premier League matches possibly linked to Bloom’s group.
Cottrell – who was deputy treasurer of UKIP and The Brexit Party and is heavily involved in Reform – was dubbed a “whale” for being the frontman to place the bets on behalf of the syndicate, which is said to have more than 100 members.
The “highly-successful” syndicate is also thought to have used the accounts of “well-known footballers, sportsmen and businessmen” to place bets but no ex-footballers are said to be in the group.
It is estimated to make £600m in winnings each year – with Bloom the alleged “head of the syndicate” and “sole beneficial owner of the bank accounts into which the syndicate’s winnings are paid and out of which winnings are distributed”.
Farage’s aide Cottrell, who previously dated Made In Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo, was jailed in the USA for eight months in 2017 for admitting to money laundering for drug dealers.
It is claimed he and Bloom have never personally met.
Bloom’s lawyers are set to reject any suggestions of betting on Premier League matches or breaching his FA exemptions.
The Times add that they plan to launch a defence to reject Dudfield’s claims next month.
Brighton declined to comment.
